DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 7, 2021) – The Mercy College men's basketball team hosts St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday, December 8th at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 8th 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (0-6, 0-0 ECC), St. Thomas Aquinas (6-3, 0-0 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting
St. Thomas Aquinas earned a 99-67 win over Mercy on February 17, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 81-61 loss at Mansfield last Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Garrett Kirkland who had a team-high 18 points. Junior James Taylor Jr. had 13 points and junior Elijah Mitchell had 10 points. Mercy was picked seventh in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 2-5 in 2021. The top six teams in the ECC standings qualify for the ECC Tournament. Mercy made their first ECC Tournament appearance since 2016 last season. The Mavericks are looking to earn their first win over the Spartans since February 13, 2013 and first home win over STAC since January 21, 2012. Mercy is looking to start 1-0 in ECC play for the first time since 2017. Mercy is currently led by sophomore Jayden Dewaal who is averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game in four starts. He was named to the ECC Honor Roll two weeks ago and is second in the ECC in rebounds per game. Junior Elijah Mitchell is second on the team with 11.7 points per game and averages 4.0 rebounds per game. He also averages a team-high 1.7 steals per game. Junior James Taylor Jr. is third on the team with 11.4 points per game and sophomore Alex May posts 5.4 points per game. Kirkland leads the team with 12.0 points per game and is making a team-high 3.0 threes per game. He has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice.
Scouting the Spartans
St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a 97-82 win over Bloomfield on Saturday to extend their winning streak to two games. The Spartans were picked first in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 14-2 last season, making it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after winning the ECC Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas is currently ranked third in the D2SIDA East Region Media Poll. The Spartans have won four of their last five games and are led by one-time ECC Players of the Week Osbel Caraballo and Demetre Roberts. Caraballo averages a team-high 16.6 points per game on 62.9 percent shooting with a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Roberts is second on the team averaging 14.3 points per game and Grant Singleton is third on the team with 12.4 points per game. Sean Moore is a one-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week and leads the team shooting 63.8 percent from the floor. The Spartans are second in the ECC in points per game (80.7), first in steals (10.6) and shoot a league-best 48.1 percent from the floor.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Saturday, December 11th when they play at Chestnut Hill at 3 p.m.
